The Wondering Outcast
by Hiryu1
Summary: A monk finds his way into a bar to meet an old rival.
1. Default Chapter

The monk stepped into the crowded tavern, his eyes tracing every shadow and patron. He walked very slowly and calmly to the bar, still glancing at the shadows that flickered in the dim torch light of the tavern. He sat at the bar and ordered some water and cheese, which the tender happily filled the order and held out his hand. The monk looked at the green and gold scale patterns of his kimono and pulled a platinum piece, which he gave to the tender with out thought of what it was worth. The tender clamped his teeth down on the metal and placed five gold coins, twenty silver pieces, and five coppers on the table before the monk.  
  
The bartender put on a stern face and spoke, "please do be trying to keep yer weapons at yer side while here in my tavern."  
  
The young man nodded and went back to his meal, dipping his head so his silvery white hair would fall over his shoulders, revealing his soft obsidian elfin ears. There it was, the silence of a group of people realizing that a dangerous being had walked into their lives. But, how dangerous was he? The elf thought to himself, as he never really doubted what would happen after the gesture. Some swords moved in their scabbards but the harsh whispers ceased the ever so slight clicking sound. With a soft enchanting voice he spoke voice he spoke. "What happened to all the music, the conversation?"  
  
A brave soul wearing a shirt of chain mail finally got enough courage to speak "it went out when you came in elf." He stood a towering 6 feet tall and had shoulders the size of the young elf's head. He faltered only once, though it was probably because of the "Dragon Fire" ale he had finished a few moments ago was starting to take effect.  
  
The elf turned sharply, his stern gaze matching his in a contest of wills. He did not wish to fight a meaningless battle, but he growled the words before even thinking about his tone, "I don't wish any trouble, but if you want it." he let the words hang ominously as the man slinked back into his seat. He turned to the barkeep, watching the scowl form on his face. "I'm looking for a shadow dancer; his name is Wu Fei Tsung."  
  
"I don't know no Wu Fei, please leave. The patrons are about to start the mother of all bar brawls." He nodded to the people unsheathing their weapons as quietly as possible.  
  
With a quick note of a flickering shadow the monk leapt from his bar stool toward a half-orc a full three heads taller than the elf, wearing no armor but light clothing and a short sword at each hip. Screaming at the top of his lungs, channeling his "ki" or inner spirit, the elf slew in a grace full line to the orc, to be met with a flurry of punches, kicks, head butts, knees, and elbows. He worked to pick off as many of the blows as possible and only tow blows got through his defenses. Both seemed to drain the life from him.  
  
"Wu Fei, why do you have your shadow's do your dirty work for you?" the elf asked, backing away from the giant.  
  
His voice was an extremely loose command of the common tongue "Just come in'ere to 'ave drink. You fight. I defend"  
  
The barkeep pulled the combatants aside. "Get out, don't come back, first a drow and now a shadow dancer, I'll loose all my business! Now leave."  
  
With a nod the elf walked outside and to the road he had found the killer of his master but he had also found a much tougher opponent as well. He walked the opposite direction of Wu Fei Tsung, perhaps it was fate; perhaps it was the ancestral weapons of the Dragon Fang Clan, two hooked swords of gleaming silver and jade, as long as those swords were his allies he would eventually persevere. But for now. more practice. 


	2. Wandering Outcast Ch 2

The drow walked north for many days, thinking and analyzing his battle with Wu Fei. His shadow partner did all the fighting for him, allowing him to go on the defensive much easier, but how did the infernal shadow move so quickly around him? He looked up from the road and found himself in a forest. The small dirt road had disappeared beneath his feet, now replaced by the fall leaves. He looked to a tree, its bare branches towering toward the sky. He didn't notice the arrows trained on him from other places, as the tengu approached.  
  
The birdman silently moved behind the silver haired monk. His voice crackled, "Welcome to the Crane lands monk."  
  
The drow whirled to see the unarmored chest of the tengu, and jumped back, his hands on his hooked swords. An outstretched hand, silenced him  
  
"Speak your name alone," he smiled at his next words "unless you can deflect twenty arrows." He lowered his hand as slowly the elf's.  
  
"My name is Kaio-Shin Tao of the Dragon Clan. I simply wish to pass through this area in search of knowledge to avenge my sensei's death."  
  
The forest was quiet for a moment, until twenty light-blue and silver clad samurai and five grey and light-blue trimmed robed shuginja emerged from the underbrush and leaves below. One emerged just five feet from the drow. He looked in bewilderment at the Tengu, "Only twenty?"  
  
"That was how many arrows were trained on you." The crackling voice laughed. "Please come with us to our home in Kyuden Pagoda." He bade the monk, "We wish to here about your travels and your sensei." The elf, seeing no way out of his predicament through stealth, he only nodded his head.  
  
The road to Kyuden Pagoda took three days, one of which the group had been ambushed by a tribe of bakemono, goblins tainted by what was left of the evil in the Shadowlands. On the third day they had broken camp early, hoping to get home sooner, the regiment of ashigaru, the tengu samurai and the drow monk had made a mistake in interpreting the scout they had sent and walked into a trap. They came from all sides wielding ninja-to, kamas, sickles, and nunchaku. There were thirty in all; each seemed to have combat experience for it took about a minute for the drow to defeat just one of the blasted goblins. He looked over to see the tengu, his black feathers glistening in the reds and purples of the sunrise, passing by a group of bakemono one instant and a bloody heap the next. How fast is that cut, he thought as he finished another goblin. His moral was low to begin with but with this new knowledge of the tengu he gained confidence, his jade-silver blades whirling in the morning sky, they swished like the wind when they cut goblin after goblin. Soon there were no more.  
  
The tengu landed and walked to the drow. His crackling voice became serious, "The scout should have found this ambush, he was one of the finest trackers in all Rokugan." He looked to his troops, all of them friends, men he respected and loved for their dedication for the empire. Many of them were being treated for injury, "Daidoji Tokemitsu!" the tengu yelled, his shout rang over the small forest opening and seemed to reverberate through the forest.  
  
Soon, a navy blue clad boy of about sixteen summers was kneeling before the samurai. His voice was soft and romantic, "Hai, Mori-sama." He flew back against a tree from the tengu's kick. His voice was a harsh whisper "Master"  
  
"Do you see all the wounded, my student?" He bellowed, pointing at the five wounded samurai and the one wounded shuginja. He was upon him in a split second, forcing his eyes to see what his report had caused, "Had your report been accurate, we might not have had so many wounded."  
  
"I was returning from my scouting when you bellowed master." 


End file.
